SONIC SHERPA RECAP

GIG RECAP: BIG LEAGUE | HAYLEY MARTSEN | HOCKEY DAD

BIG LEAGUE

Having made their way up Australia’s east coast playing in front of packed out crowds from Collingwood to Woy Woy, Melbourne indie-rockers Big League decided to go back to the minors, as they played an intimate gig in east Brisbane’s best record store, Sonic Sherpa.

Their fuzzy guitar-rock amplified the salt of the earth aesthetic within the store, as the quartet’s on-stage banter paled in comparison to the bickering between two punters in the crowd arguing who was drunker during the performance, with one patron doing his best Mick Jagger cosplay yelling at another patron, who was drinking the same bottle of Coopers pale ale, to sober up. 

Drenched in sweat on the first day of winter in Brisbane, the four-piece performed tracks from their new record Heathens Sound, doing their best to warm-up an already humid crowd. Performing new hits such as At All and band favourite Dining out on the Subdivide, their latest music has a definitive polish to it, though they still possess that triumphant 90s sound which has been a calling card of theirs since their debut album I Thought Thunderbolt. 

Speaking to husband-wife duo Travis and Marie after the show, the duo were exhilarated with their tour, and the fan response to their latest project. 

 Marie: “You know, a couple years ago we'd be lucky to get 50 people in the room and now that's sort of standard. We’re getting people down there without having to beg our cousin to come down to fill the room. I mean playing in Woy Woy, that was our first sellout show, we sold out tickets before we got there which was bananas because we don't know people there, so we were psyched with that!”

Regarding the album’s creation itself the band says it feels like their first album as a ‘band’, crediting their collaborative approach for the album’s holistic sound. 

Travis: “We've got a good band around us and we all work together. So really, this album is the most truly collaborative band effort. It's the first true band album for Big League. I write the lyrics and the melody, and then everything else is sort of up for grabs. With the bass, Renny writes and does whatever he wants - and you'd be a fool to try and direct him. Don't rein him in.” 

Having loved their time in and around the brown snake, Big League made it clear they’ll be back in Brisbane within the next twelve months, but in the immediate future the quartet have their eyes set across the ditch as they prepare for their maiden venture to New Zealand, playing in Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland next month. 

HAYLEY MARTSEN

Performing her sophomore album Girlhood, country-pop star Hayley Marsten immersed Sonic Sherpa in a world of heartbreak, triumph and authenticity. Adorned in a glimmering cape that even Shania Twain would marvel at, the Central-Queensland native was at her glitzy best.

Kicking off her performance appropriately with Girlhood, Marsten’s performance of the album’s title track set the tone for the rest of the show. Featuring crowd-work, nervous laughter and emphatic vocals - the track seemed to resonate deeply with every woman in the crowd, young and old alike. Further enforcing the show’s cathartic atmosphere, the juxtaposition between the power-pop of I’m Fine Thanks and the slower, more introspective Feel It All only amplified the powerful messages of self-belief and determination behind Marsten’s writing. 

The only non-original track of the set, Marsten’s cover of The Preatures’ I Know a Girl went off without a hitch, which makes sense considering that she once listened to this track 67 times in a single day. Unsurprisingly, no lyrics were forgotten. 

Walking the audience through a pretty ridiculous story of almost being stung by a stingray in the creation of the music video for Drowning Myself, the performance of the track was just as killer as any sea ray could be, fit with backing vocals from the band and some quite impressive grooving from Hayley herself. 

Saving the best for the last, Marsten’s penultimate track was the QMA nominated single Getting Better - a track birthed from the worst of her battles with anxiety, it centres around her misguided belief that she’s letting those around her down by struggling with her own mental health issues. It was followed up by what could be described as the antithesis to Getting Better, as her closing track I Am A Rich Man (inspired from an iconic Cher interview) is an unapologetically brash anthem lambasting the notion that a woman’s success is defined by her ability to find a ‘rich man’ to settle down with. 

On her birthday no less, Marsten stuck around long after her performance finished to sign records and spin yarns with fans - closing the chapter on a uniquely special Monday afternoon. 

HOCKEY DAD

Less than 7 days removed from the release of their fourth studio album Rebuild Repeat, Australian music icons Hockey Dad popped into Sonic Sherpa for a short and sweet acoustic set. 

It was a day for all ages in Stones Corner, as stories of kids skipping school for the performance could be heard as clearly as workers regaling their made up ailments which let them beat work early and make it in time for the set. 

The adoring crowd put up with being packed like sardines to hear acoustic cuts of tracks like Safety Pin and Wreck & Ruin, before forming a seemingly endless line out the front of the store. Despite the performance wrapping up before 4:30 PM, Zach and Billy were still signing merch and chatting with fans well into dusk. 

Having successfully cut their teeth at Sonic Sherpa, the duo boarded a plane bound for Perth to begin their long awaited national tour with Californian punk-rockers Militarie Gun and Frankston’s finest The Belair Lipbombs. The Windang boys will be back in Brisbane this Friday (June 29th) performing at The Fortitude Music Hall.